Nurse Malpractice

November 3, 2023

Nurses have a duty not only to comply with the standard of reasonable care for the a patient but also have a duty to act as an advocate for the patient. Their failure to do so may bring their action within the scope of malpractice. Under the American Nurses Association Code of Ethics for Nurses, the nurse is an advocate for the patient. The nurse must be alert to and take action regarding incompetent, unethical, illegal or impaired practice by any member of the health care team. Also nurses are to report changes in a patient’s condition and/or to question the orders of a doctor when they are not in accordance with standard medical practice.

Nurse Malpractice-Standard of Care

The overall nursing standard of care may be established by a number of different means:

Most states have administrative codes that are called Nurse Practice Acts.
Nursing organization standards such as standards published by the Nurses Association of the American College of Obstetrician and Gynecologists.
Nursing literature. Some standard nursing textbooks are Foundations of Nursing Practice and Illustrated Manual of Nursing Practice.
Risk management publications. These publications, put out principally by the insurance industry and by hospitals may establish the standard of care.
Finally hospital policies and procedures. These need to be obtained in the early course of discovery if litigation is initiated.

Testimony from a Nurse

In some instances, nurses of course can testify as to what they have observed and what they have done. Professional nursing however is limited by statute. In particular Va. Code § 54.1-3000 defines professional nursing as including the administration of medications and treatments as prescribed by any person authorized by law to prescribe such. That means that the nurse cannot prescribe medication. The nurse cannot prescribe treatment. A nurse cannot diagnose. And the nurse cannot testify as to causation.

This is further confirmed in Va. Code § 8.01-401.2 which says that a physician’s assistant and/or a nurse practitioner cannot testify as to causation in a medical malpractice case.

Does that then mean that a nurse could testify as to causation in a non-medical malpractice case? I would be inclined to say no. Since they can’t diagnose or treat, they probably cannot express an opinion as to causation on anything.

Work With an Experienced Malpractice Lawyer in Northern Virginia

Brien Roche

Brien A. Roche has been an attorney since 1976. Mr. Roche is admitted to practice in Virginia, the District of Columbia, and Maryland. In addition to his busy law practice, Mr. Roche is also a published author of several books & articles relating to the practice of law.

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